Oneida County E-9-1-1 Gets Funding For Phones

Sometimes it takes quite a bit of money to integrate a complex telephone system, but the Oneida county board went along with a request to make E-911 dispatching more efficient.

The board agreed to spend nearly $72, 000 from the general fund to pay for a phone console integration at the sheriff's department.

Emergency Management Director Ken Kortenhoff says they have two systems...one to answer non-emergency phone calls and another system for 9-1-1 calls. The non-emergency system is being replaced by the county. Those two systems are merged in the dispatch center so dispatchers can take calls from one handset. When the new system is installed, it needs to be integrated with the 9-1-1 system. They discovered the new system needs more equipment to make that happen....

".....what we're asking to do is upgrade the console in the back of our 9-1-1 center, to integrate both the new IP phone system with the existing 9-1-1 phone system...."

But the pricetag wasn't cheap. The total cost was nearly $99,000. The remaining $26,000 came from leftover funds in various accounts. The board approved the switchover so the calls would be integrated.